cartoon_network_city_fanonfandomcom-20200214-history
Ace the Bathound
Ace was a German Shepherd dog originally owned by an engraver named John Wilker. He was found by Batman and Robin after his master was kidnapped by a gang of counterfeiters. With his master unable to fight off the kidnappers, Wilker's dog jumped to his defense. Biography Ace put up a savage attack but was beaten into unconsciousness by the thugs. Disoriented but determined to rescue his master, the brave canine dove into the river in search of Wilker. While on patrol that night, Robin spotted the dog struggling in the water and joined Batman in plucking the dazed animal from the river. The dog soon recovered its energy and Bruce Wayne put an ad in the newspaper, believing that someone would recognize the brown German shepherd with the distinctive diamond patch of fur on his forehead. The grateful dog raced the Batmobile out of the Batcave on a subsequent outing and, rather than return him, the Dynamic Duo took him along. Batman used Ace to try to locate Wilker. Because he had already placed the "lost dog" announcements for Ace in his civilian identity of Bruce Wayne, he was concerned that anyone recognizing Ace (who had a prominent star-shaped marking on his forehead) might make the connection between Bruce Wayne and Batman. To forestall that problem, Robin hastily improvised a hood-like mask for the dog that incorporated the bat emblem as a dog tag dangling from Ace's collar: "I cut him this mask from our black cloth toolbag ... and made a bat-symbol for his collar." The dog proved his worth immediately when he zeroed in on an escaped convict at a carnival. "Look," motioned Robin. "He's got Bowers by the coat-sleeve, holding him in true police dog style." Bowers' own cry of dismay ("Leggo you -- you BAT-HOUND!") officially gave the newest resident of the Batcave a name. Trivia *As illogical as it may seem, Ace wore a domino-mask in order to protect his secret identity, due to a prominent star-shaped marking on his forehead. *In the modern, Post-Crisis continuity, Robin (Tim Drake) briefly adopted a German Shepherd named Ace, which he used to aid him on several adventures. A version of Ace has also appeared on the children's animated series Krypto, the Super-Dog. *In Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come mini-series, Ace is portrayed as the giant winged steed of the Fourth World Batwoman. Ace is also mentioned in Howard Chaykin's Batman/Houdini Elseworlds series. During a seance attended by Bruce Wayne and mystic debunker Harry Houdini, Ace was referred to as Bruce Wayne's childhood pet. In the Frankenstein pastiche Batman: Castle of the Bat, Dr Bruce Wayne tests his theories by creating a literal Bat-Hound; a dog with some of the attributes of a bat. *In Pre-Crisis continuity, Superman's Batman-like identity of Nightwing included a Kandorian counterpart to the Bat-Hound, a telepathic dog named "Nighthound". *He is mentioned in Scooby Doo and Batman: Brave and the Bold by Shadow Wolf when the others wonder what ever happened to him and she says that he hangs out with The Dog Star Patrol now. Category:Canon Characters Category:Batman characters Category:Dogs Category:Superheros